


The Truth

by starlight_and_seafire



Series: Damerey Week 2019 [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Pre-Relationship, episode IX speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 10:49:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21035021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlight_and_seafire/pseuds/starlight_and_seafire
Summary: Earlier in the day, Rey had learned a truth about her family. Earlier in the day, she had learned what she thought wasthe truthabout her family.But now she comes to another one.





	The Truth

**Author's Note:**

> For Damerey Week - Day 1: Found Family, Episode 9 Speculation

The ground shifts beneath her feet and for a moment she has the dizzying feeling that somehow she’s ended up back on the shifting sands of Jakku.

_But, no —_

Her family left her behind on Jakku.

And now?

Now the ground beneath her is duracrete, solid and stable. The planet isn’t prone to quakes, there is no sudden and unexpected attack that would leave the ground trembling under the heavy explosions of bombs.

Now the only thing that shifts is her worldview once more. Once upon a time she had the soul-deep belief that her parents would return to her only to have that shift into the terrifying fear that her parents were nothing, that she was nothing . . .

_But, no —_

Now her mother sits behind a door not twenty feet from her.

A vision had come to the both of them. A DNA test confirmed it. Neither knows exactly how it happened, except that a young girl had been stolen and memories expertly manipulated.

They have theories, of course. But there’s a war happening around them, and there’s no time to investigate.

She’s scaled ships hundreds of meters high, faced down powerful evil without a weapon to speak of, been kidnapped and tortured –

But it all pales in comparison to the feeling now, and she takes cautious steps forward as the world spins madly on.

She’s vaguely aware of noise, a sense of a presence around her – it’s familiar enough that her hackles don’t rise in response to the new being nearby, but it isn’t until they’re standing right in front of her, concern practically radiating from them, that she recognizes the person.

He says something, but she can only stand there, uncomprehending.

She can feel his concern grow, and he steps in closer, his warm hand resting on her shoulder as he asks, “You alright, sunshine?”

She doesn’t know what to say, can’t think of the right words, _how do you even begin telling someone something like that_ . . . she can only manage to shake her head as her hand comes up to grasp his, desperate for his warmth.

He murmurs something soft and soothing, and she can’t help but move closer, her arms wrapping around his middle as she buries her face in his shoulder.

One of his arms comes around her shoulders, hand stroking over her hair that’s bound back in a ponytail, while the other rests around her waist holding her close.

At one time the idea of being held like this might have made her feel trapped. Now it only makes her feel secure.

There’s a detached, analytical part of her that notes with concern how upset she must be — at any other time she might feel a rush of giddiness at being so close to Poe Dameron, to have his arms around her like this, to have him murmuring soft words into her ear, after they’ve been teetering on the precipice of something _more _for so long . . .

But right now her growing feelings for this man can only take a back seat to the discovery of her family.

That thought has her pushing back from him just far enough that she can rub the heels of her hands over her tired eyes.

His voice is soft when he asks, “Wanna talk about it?”

The thought of trying to talk about it right now makes her blanch. Even if she wasn’t so overwhelmed, Leia had asked her to keep a tight lid on the information while the situation was still so precarious . . . but Leia hadn’t meant keeping it from them, her first and best friends, right? But still, right now . . . right now, it’s too much.

She shakes her head no.

“Wanna grab some food?”

She considers the idea, but the torrent of emotions has overcome what seems like the almost constant hunger in her stomach. She could eat . . . but maybe not quite yet.

She shakes her head again.

Poe considers her, his curls shifting as he tilts his head to the side in contemplation. “Wanna hit the flight sim?”

Flight sims were always a distraction and a comfort to her on Jakku, and the idea of losing herself in one again appeals to her. She nods.

Poe holds his elbow out to her. “Let’s go then.”

***

“To your left! Get it, get it!”

Poe’s excited voice carries through the air, and she uses the controls to bank sideways, chasing the Tie Fighter before unleashing a volley of shots. The enemy ship goes up in flames and she laughs as the simulation ends, both their screens flashing in victory.

“Nice work, sunshine,” he says, the excitement still lingering in his voice even though the volume is — thankfully — substantially decreased from just moments ago. She lifts her hand to meet his in a high-five.

“I would say so. Took out, oh, how many more Tie Fighters than you?” She can’t resist teasing him, sees him grin and shake his head.

“An ace starship fighter and a master Jedi to boot? I’m just glad you’re on my team.”

The mention of the Jedi, of the reminder of her family legacy (and not only does she have a family, but she has a _family legacy, and oh gods, she’s just realizing that now_) has the smile falling from her face.

Poe senses the change but thankfully doesn’t comment on it, just asks, “Wanna go again?”

She does.

This time three Tie Fighters end up on her tail, but Poe takes them out easily.

As the simulation ends, she goes to tell him, “Nice work,” briefly considers tagging on some sweet nickname like he’s given her, but she gets flustered at just thinking of the idea, too nervous about accidentally revealing anything on top of all the other things currently freaking her out, and before she can say anything at all, Poe’s comm beeps with an incoming message.

He looks at her apologetically before pulling it out to look at it.

Then her comm beeps. The fact that her and Poe have gotten messages so close to each other causes a shot of worry to lance through her as she wonders whether the First Order has reared its ugly head somewhere or if there’s some absolutely necessary mission the two need to take off on right now.

She just wants a night off to process everything.

Her relief is palpable when she sees it’s Finn and he’s wondering if she wants to grab dinner with him and Rose.

“It’s Finn,” Poe says, and she nods, says “Same.” Often the four of them get dinner together when they’re all on base and can spare the time. The message from him isn’t at all unexpected and usually she’s on board with the idea.

But right now the idea of the crowded cafeteria is too much.

“I’m wondering,” Poe starts, and she looks up at him gratefully when he suggests his idea.

That’s how they end up in his room, Rey relaxing where she sits propped up against his bed, Poe next to her while Rose and Finn sit across from them, trays laden with food in between.

And though it was apparent when they had first stepped into the room that they had all sensed a change in her, some heavy burden weighing down her shoulders, no one pressed or pushed her, and for that she was thankful. Early on, Finn had laid a hand on her shoulder, eyes concerned as he said, “You okay, peanut?”

“I will be,” she said, and it was the truth. Finn nodded as Rose reached out to squeeze her hand and they left it at that.

Sometime in the middle of dinner, Rose says happily, “This was such a great idea,” as Beebee beeps cheerfully next to them and Rey has to agree. At some point as they ate, her anxiety lessened and she smiled more freely, even if she couldn’t quite join in the laughter that flowed easily between the rest of the group. But even if she couldn’t quite summon their level of joy, something unclenched in her at just seeing the happiness on their faces.

It was exactly what she needed.

They stayed together in Poe’s room long into the evening as they projected a holofilm onto the wall. Finn moved until he sat next to her, his back resting beside hers, and Rose cuddled up into his arms. She was surrounded on all sides by their warmth and she relaxed as they watched the movie.

At one point, Beebee merrily twirls and dances in front of them as a ballroom scene plays and she laughs, the sound of it a shock to her own ears.

She senses Poe glance at her and she meets his gaze, sees a sweet smile grace his face at her laughter, and she can’t resist smiling back. He knocks his knee gently against hers and she knocks his back and they settle back into the movie, and when her hand inches out closer to his, he rests his palm in hers and the touch grounds her.

Earlier in the day, she had learned a truth about her family. Earlier in the day, she had learned what she thought was _the truth _about her family.

But now she comes to another one.

She’s more relaxed, more content when she’s surrounded by these three – _no, four_, she mentally corrects, as Beebee tootles happily at the Loth-cats that appear on screen. Her worry, her fear and anxiety and doubt, while still present beneath the surface, is soothed in their presence.

She feels a connection, a bond between them that only grows brighter and stronger the longer she knows them.

She thinks this is what she had been missing all those years on Jakku.

These four were her family. She had been waiting for them.


End file.
